Podcast episode
Episode 212 – How The Chosen Went From $0 to 520 Million Viewers | Chris & Chad
Join host John Coleman on the set of The Chosen in Midlothian, Texas, for an unprecedented conversation with producers Chris Juen and Chad Gundersen of Out of Order Studios. From the Sanhedrin throne room itself, Chris and Chad share the untold story of how a crowdfunded Jesus project became a global phenomenon reaching 520 million people—and what it means for faith-driven investors seeking to impact culture through entertainment.
All opinions expressed on this podcast, including the team and guests, are solely their opinions. Host and guests may maintain positions in the companies and securities discussed. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as specific investment advice for any individual or organization.
Episode Notes
Behind the scenes of the most successful faith-based media project in history, producers Chris Juen and Chad Gundersen reveal what every faith-driven investor needs to know about entertainment investment. Recording from the actual Sanhedrin set in Midlothian, Texas, John Coleman explores how The Chosen scaled from crowdfunding four episodes with no guarantee of episode five to reaching over 520 million viewers worldwide—and what that journey teaches us about investing in culture.
Chris and Chad don’t sugarcoat the risks. Entertainment investment is notoriously unpredictable, and they’ve watched countless well-meaning investors lose everything by backing the wrong teams or taking one-off bets instead of diversified approaches. But they also make a compelling case: Christians yielded culture and then complained when culture went bad. The question isn’t whether entertainment is risky—it’s whether the fight for culture is worth the risk.
Drawing from Chris’s 20 years inside major studios (Contact, Spider-Man, Polar Express) and Chad’s 20 years in independent film, they’ve built Out of Order Studios on a revolutionary model: studio-level quality without studio-level budgets. Their three-pillar investment framework—spark the next generation, build infrastructure, create content—offers faith-driven investors a roadmap for cultural impact that goes far beyond any single project. This is required listening for anyone considering entertainment investment or wondering how to steward capital toward lasting cultural change.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction from The Chosen Set
02:04 How Chris and Chad Joined The Chosen
02:49 Chad’s 20-Year Journey with Dallas Jenkins
05:27 Starting Out of Order Studios in 2015
06:27 The Script That Changed Everything
07:40 Christian Art Became a Dirty Word
09:12 The Perfect Hybrid Model
09:47 “I’m Tired of Crappy Christian Content”
11:49 Jonathan Roumie and Season One Production
14:32 The Kingdom Announcement vs. 50 People
16:01 COVID and the Explosion of Growth
18:26 When Season Two Sold Out in 7 Minutes
19:34 Red Sea Moments and Creating Set Culture
23:41 Why Non-Believers Work on The Chosen
24:21 12,000 People for Feeding of the 5,000
26:05 SAG Calls During Sermon on the Mount
29:34 The Unpredictable Nature of Entertainment
30:08 Why Most Investors Get Burned
32:03 The Disney Animator Who Can’t Run a Project
33:23 Media Investment: Worth the Risk?
34:48 Platforms, Not Projects
38:13 Out of Order’s Vision Beyond The Chosen
39:09 The Chosen Adventures Animated Series
40:39 Combining Studio and Independent Experience
42:36 We Can Handle $1M to $150M Budgets
43:20 Training the Next Generation
45:40 Developing Projects vs. Investing in People
47:11 AI in Animation and Film Production
50:55 Unexpected Choices Drive Great Art
54:04 Advice for Creators and Investors
55:44 Three Investment Pillars for Cultural Impact
56:24 Film Camp and Intern Programs
57:47 Infrastructure, Content, and Why You Invest
58:51 All Ships Rise Together